United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS, MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND CHILD ENTICEMENT CHARGES

Defendant Faces Up to Life in Prison

LUBBOCK, Tx. — Roland E. Guerra, of San Angelo, Texas, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Lubbock to two counts of transportation of visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; to one count of enticement of a child; and agreed to the forfeiture of various items of personal property, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas.

Guerra was charged in an indictment returned on November 21, 2006, in the Western District of Tennessee. That case was later transferred to the San Angelo Division of the Northern District of Texas for prosecution. Guerra entered his plea today before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings who ordered a pre-sentence investigation with sentencing to be scheduled after that investigation is completed. Guerra, 47, faces up to life in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on November 22, 2006, on the charges set out in the indictment.

According to documents filed in Court, in September 2006, Roland E. Guerra began making contact, via the Internet, with a Memphis Task Force officer, who had assumed an undercover identity by posing as a 13 year-old female. During the next month Guerra contacted the undercover officer and expressed an interest in having a sexual relationship. On September 14, 2006, Guerra forwarded digital images to the undercover officer which depicted Guerra engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a minor. Then on October 5, 2006, Guerra used his computer to send a computer video depicting a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

On October 19, 2006, Guerra began to discuss with the undercover officer the possibility of meeting in Abilene, Texas, for the purpose of engaging in a sexual relationship. Guerra believed the undercover officer to actually be a 13 year-old female. During multiple Internet conversations that occurred over a one-week period, Guerra discussed the details of how thesexual encounter would be arranged. Guerra understood that the 13 year-old girl was coming to Abilene, Texas, for a youth tennis tournament, and he requested the name of the motel where the girl would be staying so he could book a room there during that time. Guerra provided his cell phone number, so he could be called when the 13 year-old girl’s father was away from the hotel, at which time they would engage in sexual activity.

On November 9, 2006, the undercover officer received a package from Guerra containing a Web cam, a camera memory stick, and a digital camera. Guerra had previously explained to the undercover officer, in his identity as the girl, that he wanted the girl to have the items so they could have a closer encounter with each other.

On November 17, 2006, law enforcement personnel contacted Guerra at a Hotel in Abilene, where Guerra had instructed the girl to meet him for the sexual encounter. Guerra was confronted about his actions and was interviewed by law enforcement officers. Guerra admitted he was at the hotel to engage in sexual intercourse with a 13 year-old minor. Guerra consented to a search of his hotel room and among other things, law enforcement officers found a gift bag containing a Sony camera, a laptop computer, condoms, and another camera that was attached to a camera stand facing the bed.

In the Court documents, Guerra admitted that he engaged in a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse and exploitation of a minor.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts of the Memphis Crimes Against Children Task Force, comprised of the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Memphis U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office, the Memphis FBI Office, the Memphis Police Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the San Angelo Assistant Special Agent in Charge Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven M. Sucsy of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Dan Newsom of the Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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